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China's "Jade Rabbit" separates from lander -
BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) --
China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, separated from the lander early on Sunday, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe soft-landed on the lunar surface.
The six-wheeled rover touched the lunar surface at 4:35 a.m., leaving deep trace on the loose lunar soil. The process was recorded by the camera on the lander and the images were sent to the earth.
The transfer mechanism with Yutu aboard unlocked at 4:06 a.m. with one side reaching the moon's surface, allowing the rover to descend to the surface following a ladder mechanism.
After the separation, the rover and lander will take photos of each other and start their own scientific explorations.
Chang'e-3 landed on the moon's Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, at 9:11 p.m. Saturday, making China the third country in the world to carry out such a rover mission after the United States and former Soviet Union.
In ancient Chinese mythology, Yutu was the white pet rabbit of the lunar goddess Chang'e. The name for the rover was selected following an online poll that collected several million votes from people around the world.
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20131215/100540.shtml
15/12/13
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China launches probe and rover to moon (video cctvnews)
China to launch Chang'e-3 lunar probe early Monday (video cctvnews)
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- Chinese lunar rover lands on moon. -The mission makes China the third country to carry out a rover mission after US and former Soviet Union.
Scientists burst into applause as a a computer generated image representing the spacecraft was shown landing on screens at a Beijing control centre, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) showed on Saturday, 12 days after Chang'e-3 blasted off on a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
Landing was the "most difficult" part of the mission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences had said in an online post written on the official Chang'e-3 Weibo page.
The probe, which was fitted with shock absorbers in the legs to cushion the impact of the landing, performed a "free-fall" for the crucial final few metres of descent.
"Chang'e-3 is completely relying on auto-control for descent, range and velocity measurements, finding the proper landing point, and free-falling," Chang'e-3's microblog said before the landing. "At this stage, the Earth base is effectively powerless, and there is only about 10 minutes to finish the process."
Ambitious programme...............http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/12/china-first-lunar-rover-set-touchdown-2013121454636469941.html
China's Jade Rabbit rover rolls on to Moon's surface...
ReplyDeleteChina's Jade Rabbit robot rover has driven off its landing module and on to the Moon's surface.
The robotic vehicle rolled down a ramp lowered by the lander and on to the volcanic plain known as Sinus Iridum.
Earlier on Saturday, the landing module containing the rover fired its thrusters to perform the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976.
The touchdown in the Moon's northern hemisphere marks the latest step in China's ambitious space programme.
The lander will operate there for a year, while the rover is expected to work for some three months.
The Chang'e-3 mission landed some 12 days after being launched atop a Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket from Xichang in the country's south......http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25384057
15/12/13